On Earth as in Heaven?: Liturgy, Materiality, and Economics

Explore the ways material economies have shaped past liturgical practices and continue to underlie our worship today.

Because the "stuff" of Christian worship is inextricably enmeshed in the marketplace, it seems that our liturgical practices, materiality, and economics are forever intertwined. In On Earth as in Heaven? leading scholars who presented the 2023 Yale Institute of Sacred Music Liturgy Conference break new disciplinary ground by investigating complex dynamics of liturgical production, distribution, and power throughout history.

This collection critically engages the tension between "earthly" materialities and eschatological visions of Christian hope, offering innovative methodologies, case studies, and approaches that promise to stimulate further research in liturgical studies and beyond.